CDC Cuts Slow Response to 7,000-Case Cyclospora Outbreak as $29 Million Funding Hole Hits Labs
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 20
CDC Cuts Slow Response to 7,000-Case Cyclospora Outbreak as $29 Million Funding Hole Hits Labs
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 20
Summary
More than 7,000 Cyclospora cases have been confirmed or are under investigation nationwide, and former CDC officials say the agency’s response has been slowed by staffing and budget cuts.
A $29 million funding loss tied to the dismantling of USAID and broader Trump-era cuts gutted the CDC’s parasitic diseases division, while one key cyclospora lab team shrank from 11 people to three.
That reduction delayed core outbreak work — from data entry to genetic analysis — and left the CDC trailing state counts; Michigan alone has reported more than 5,000 cases while CDC has verified 1,645 domestic cases.
Federal officials said Thursday the Midwest outbreak was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell, which removed the product, while supplier Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled lettuce from central Mexico.
The CDC did not alert the public until July 14 even though illnesses began in mid-May, and experts say the episode shows how lost staff, training limits and institutional knowledge weakened the US outbreak response.